The right to freedom of artistic expression and creativity

In the past few years several researchers have undertaken studies so as to underline the importance of the notion of ‘culture’ and its human rights dimension.

For instance Farida Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, has published a report in 2013 where she stresses the ways artistic expression is frequently undermined worldwide and that this generates significant ‘cultural, social and economic losses’.

Similar references to the aforementioned dimension of cultural right are included in a 2014 EU Commission study mentioning that ‘cultural expressions and culture-related material … are a significant lever in actions aiming to improve human rights, democracy and governance’.